Lynne at Left in Lowell posted about yesterday’s Harvest Festival at Rotary Park, the Mill City Grows coming out party that knocked the garden boots off everybody who attended. What a fabulous event, and what a fantastic symbol of where Lowell is going with its invigorated neighborhood and community activism. At noontime, I was in East Pawtucketville for the new neighborhood group’s first festival—tents and music and vendors and kid games in the small City parking lot on University Ave. The multi-colored COOL bus and students from the fraternities and sororities in the area showed up. A DJ blasted Lady Gaga and YMCA. It was damp but lively. Across the city at 3.30 p.m., there were more than 100 people at the garden fair, which Lynne describes in an enthusiastic post here. There are a ton of photos and comments on Facebook.

Following are three photos by Corey Sciuto of Mayor Murphy and friends (1), City Manager Lynch and friends (2), and Mill City Grows organizers Lydia and Francey and friends (3). Corey has more at the Mill City Grows Facebook page.